Softwr

Accounting & Finance · head to head

Airbase vs Paychex

Airbase logo

Airbase

Accounting & Finance

The first all-in-one spend management platform

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Paychex logo

Paychex

Accounting & Finance

HR solutions built for your business

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Airbase airbase was acquired by Paylocity; its pricing page now redirects to paylocity.com/pricing and the product is marketed as 'Airbase, a Paylocity Company' within Paylocity's HCM platform rather than as a standalone product.; Paychex paychex Flex pricing is not published; it depends on employee count and business needs and requires contacting sales for a custom quote across Select, Pro and Enterprise tiers
  • They diverge on capability: Airbase covers Corporate cards, Paychex covers Payroll processing.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbase and Paychex actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbase and Paychex differ
AttributeAirbasePaychex
Founded20171971

Identical on both: starting price ($29/month), pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting & Finance).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Airbase

  • Corporate cards
  • Bill payments
  • Expense management
  • Procurement
  • Approvals
  • NetSuite
  • Sage Intacct
  • Slack

Only in Paychex

  • Payroll processing
  • HR services
  • Benefits administration
  • Time & attendance
  • PEO services
  • Sage
  • SOC 1/2
  • SSAE 18

Both cover

  • QuickBooks
  • Xero
  • Web support
  • Ios support
  • Android support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Airbase

  • Spend managementnot Paychex
  • Expense reportingnot Paychex
  • Vendor paymentsnot Paychex

Paychex

  • Businesses with 1 to 250+ employees needing payroll, willing to get a custom quote rather than self-serve pricingnot Airbase

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Airbase

  • Airbase was acquired by Paylocity; its pricing page now redirects to paylocity.com/pricing and the product is marketed as 'Airbase, a Paylocity Company' within Paylocity's HCM platform rather than as a standalone product.

Paychex

  • Paychex Flex pricing is not published; it depends on employee count and business needs and requires contacting sales for a custom quote across Select, Pro and Enterprise tiers

Pricing, plan by plan

Airbase

$29/month
  • StandardFree
    • Corporate cards
    • Expense reports
    • Bill pay
  • Premium$10/month
    • Advanced approvals
    • NetSuite sync
    • Procurement
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom workflows
    • API access
    • Dedicated support

Paychex

$29/month
  • Flex Essentials$39/month
    • Payroll
    • Tax administration
    • Direct deposit
  • Flex Select$59/month
    • HR administration
    • State unemployment insurance
    • New hire reporting

Which should you pick?

Choose Airbase if

  • You need corporate cards.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want bill payments.
Airbase review

Choose Paychex if

  • You need payroll processing.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want hr services.
Paychex review

Questions people ask

Is Airbase or Paychex better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbase starts at $29/month and Paychex at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbase or Paychex?
Airbase starts at $29/month and Paychex at $29/month.
Does Airbase or Paychex run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Ios, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Airbase best used for?
Airbase is most often used for spend management, expense reporting, vendor payments. Of those, spend management and expense reporting are not what Paychex is typically brought in for.
What can Airbase do that Paychex cannot?
Airbase covers Corporate cards, Bill payments, Expense management, Procurement. Paychex covers Payroll processing, HR services, Benefits administration, Time & attendance. Both handle QuickBooks, Xero, Web support, Ios support.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Airbase

More on Paychex

Keep looking

Other head to heads